“This process of electronic settlements is becoming quicker and quicker with each settlement I do,” says Leanne. “It means I've a better work-life balance and there is more time to work on my business. There's no more waiting on clearance of cheques and having to draw cheques and post them out”. Instead, accounts are paid almost immediately after settlement - saving time and creating a lot less stress.

“There is always a chance in a paper settlement that errors can occur at the time of settlement like signatures not matching, people being delayed, cheques not being correct,” Leanne continues. With electronic settlement, everything is “checked along the way”.

Working together

A shared responsibility to ensure they – and their peers – are ready for 100% digital transactions is evident.

“I’ve completed several settlements where it’s been the other settlement agent’s first or second transaction on the platform. I love being able to assist them,” Leanne says.

“Often, other settlement agents call me with questions and I always take the time to make sure they understand the steps to settlement. I’ve even had settlement agents come into my office with their laptops so I can check their work. We may be competitors, but for many of us settlement agents we’re also friends.”

However, Susan warns that despite the easy new system, conveyancers still have to do their due diligence. “You’ve still got to do settlement adjustment figures, you’ve still got to give people cheque directions. It’s not all on the system. You’ve still got a couple of manual things to be aware of.”

Getting you up to speed

With the deadline for the move to fully digital nearing, many practitioners have already worked with PEXA Direct Specialists to learn the new procedures for e-Conveyancing.

“I’ve been going to the courses and the events since it was just an idea,” says Susan. “I’ve wanted to do this right from the very start.”

While the courses were useful, Susan found the greatest benefit was hands-on training in her own office with a PEXA trainer. “You can ask all sorts of questions,” she says. “In your first settlement you’re a bit nervous, but they’re there with you.”

Be prepared

There are several transition deadlines to be aware of, and practitioners like Susan and Leanne urge everyone to get on board as soon as possible.

“If they don’t get on and learn now, they will struggle to try and learn in a short period of time,” Susan says. “It’s best to make all the mistakes now.”

Leanne agrees: “This is an exciting time [for the industry] and everyone is at different stages with e-Conveyancing. But by working together, this will be the new normal and paper settlements will be a thing of the past.”